Cobb's on the job: Kentucky sophomore one of SEC's most dangerous players

Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009

By Marc Weiszer

The player who averages more touchdowns per game this year than any other player in the Southeastern Conference isn't Florida's Tim Tebow or Alabama's Mark Ingram.

It's Kentucky's Randall Cobb, a scoring threat any time he touches the ball on offense, whether at receiver as the Wildcats' top pass-catcher or running out of the "WildCobb" - Kentucky's version of the Wildcat formation.

The 5-foot-11, 188-pound sophomore from Alcoa, Tenn., has seven rushing touchdowns and four receiving and has completed a 37-yard pass.

So which of his many roles does he like most?

"I'd say probably punt return," said Cobb, who returned a punt 73 yards for a score this year, giving him a total of 12 touchdowns. "I'd say that's the thing that I enjoy doing most.

"Just the fact that you never know what's going to happen. Sometimes the kicker, it might go off the side of his foot. It might be kicked in a place where you don't expect somebody to catch it. ... I have the ability to go over there and make a play with it."

Cobb is making plays all over for the Wildcats.

He ranks in the SEC's top 10 in six statistical categories, including:

► Ninth in receptions per game at 3.6. He has 32 catches for 384 yards.

► Third in punt return average at 13.2 yards per return.

► Ninth in kickoff returns, averaging 25.2 yards.

► No surprise, then, that he ranks third in all-purpose yards at 148.1 per game.

Need more? OK, he is Kentucky's holder for extra points and field goals.

"He might be the most talented player in the Southeastern Conference today," said Georgia coach Mark Richt, gearing up for Saturday's game against Kentucky. "We know what he did last year. He just about single-handedly beat us himself."

Cobb split time between quarterback and receiver last year, starting at quarterback against Georgia. He ran for 82 yards and three touchdowns and completed 12 of 20 passes for 105 yards.

"He's their go-to guy, he's their playmaker," safety Bryan Evans said. "We know they're going to try and get the ball in his hands."

The Bulldogs outlasted Kentucky 42-38 in a game that had six lead changes in the second half. Cobb's final pass was tipped and intercepted by Demarcus Dobbs at the Georgia 18 with 46 seconds to play.

"It's tough for me remembering that game," Cobb said. "Just the way that it ended. It's something that's been in my mind ever since that game."

Kentucky has used Mike Hartline, Will Fidler and Morgan Newton at quarterback this season. Hartline missed four games with a knee injury and is out Saturday.

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks aims to get the ball in Cobb's hands 10 to 18 times per game in the WildCobb, when he lines up at quarterback to take snaps in a shotgun set.

"We're using him a lot more," Brooks said. "We used it a little bit up to the point where Mike Hartline was hurt and then we started expanding that package and using it a lot more."

Cobb started the last four games of 2008 at quarterback, so he brings a passing threat to the Wildcat formation.

"That's the biggest thing with me running the Wildcat," said Cobb, who is 2-for-7 passing for 46 yards. "I have the ability to throw the ball. I still have a quarterback mindset."

Cobb rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in Kentucky's first win at Auburn in 43 years and ran for 99 yards with two touchdowns on 14 carries in a 24-13 win at Vanderbilt last Saturday.

In one three-play sequence, Cobb ran for 18 yards out of the Wildcat, handed the ball to Derrick Locke - who threw a 41-yard pass to quarterback Morgan Newton - and ran for a 21-yard touchdown

"I love the game of football, I love every aspect of it," Cobb said. "Just all the things that I'm doing, I just love it."